Commercially available expandable automation devices (also known as programmable logic controllers) or expandable automation devices described in patent documents can be adapted to a wide variety of automation tasks and, are used, for example, in the field of industrial automation technology and in the field of switching and control technology.
These automation systems can be constructed in modular form from a central subassembly, communication couplers and expansion modules. Known central subassemblies include different subassemblies such as a central processing unit (also referred to as a CPU), a voltage supply, an interface for connecting external input and output modules, and internal input and output modules.
Owing to different functional and mechanical designs of the individual subassemblies of the central subassembly, production of the central subassembly can be complicated and costly due, for example, to a plurality of soldering processes which are matched to one another in order to avoid destroying individual components in the subassemblies.